Don't Ask By Tomoyo Daidouji
by animefanrk2k
Summary: It was indeed three years since HE had shown up in our lives over there and completely changed everything. To me, Tomoyo Daidouji, he was an enigma that impacted my life like no other individual has done before… Eriol Hiragizawa… - Tomoyo Ch01
1. It All Began That Winter Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura nor its characters. This is a non-profit story written by me and inspired by the characters in the previously aforementioned anime series.

Note: This is from Tomoyo's POV.

**Don't Ask by Tomoyo Daidouji**

By animefanrk2k

"It's been three years, hasn't it?" I mumbled this to myself, my long, dark hair swaying in the wind from the open window I was in front of. Even this late at night, the streets lights were glaring on everyone below and I could rarely, if ever, make out any of the stars above. That's why I always gazed below. From here, from this fifth story window, I could make out a homeless person sleeping on subway vents, two shady characters at the street corner, and at least five separate piles of garbage. With only this view, I could never fathom how anyone could nickname this city "the capital of the world". Then again, this was my bias, since I preferred Japan. Still, there was a definite comfort I felt here. Despite the view right now, I've already lived here for a full year with those roommates that made me feel welcome. But those roommates were… "Unique," I said to no one in particular, finding it the correct word to describe them.

"What is?" I turned to see one of those "unique" roommates. He was the official "chef" of the house and overall, was probably the one that took care of all of us. Already, I had grown accustomed of thinking of "us" as a group. He had a slender, feminine build to him with light brown hair coming to his shoulders and bright green eyes. Many times, I would mistake him as my best friend back in Japan when I was drowsy. He also claimed I did this when I was drunk, but I refused to acknowledge this embarrassing fact. In any case, that friendly face smiled at me as he made his way into the room and plopped down beside me on my bed. He knew I disliked it when he distracted me from my brooding moments, but he did so just the same, perhaps, to cheer up my spirits a little. "Window gazing again?"

"Yes," I answered simply. This was Aoi. He was also Japanese, but only by blood. His mother was supposedly some upstanding lady who was connected to the Japanese government. In any case, I never really did understand why Aoi lived here in New York. Aoi claimed that he found it interesting to be here. I certainly couldn't doubt that the place was interesting, but then again, Aoi's "interests" were questionable.

For one thing, he had found me of great interest.

"Anyway, Aoi, why are you so late tonight?" I put on a faux pouting act, since he, and for some reason my other roommates, haven't arrived home until now. "I'm going to starve. You shouldn't keep a lady…"

It was then a small box was brought right in my line of vision. "Happy birthday, Tomoyo-kun," Aoi said happily with his usual yet unusual honorific for me. "It's September 3rd, your birthday, correct? I thought a small gift was in order."

I accepted the gift with surprise. I wouldn't have expected a gift or for anyone to celebrate or commemorate my birthday in any way, shape, or form here, especially after I left my friends and family behind. In the first place, I don't even remember telling anyone that my birthday was today.

As Aoi led me towards the apartment's dining room, a small area next to the kitchen that had a table and four chairs, I couldn't stop reminiscing about my last crazy roller coaster of a time before I finally left Tomoeda a year ago. Three years… I already said that before. It was indeed three years since HE had shown up in our lives over there and completely changed everything. To me, Tomoyo Daidouji, he was an enigma that impacted my life like no other individual has done before…

Eriol Hiragizawa…

Chapter 1: It All Began That Winter Day

That winter, I had gone to Narita Airport to greet him alone. Save for Touya-san who had driven me here and was waiting in the car for us, no one had come to greet Eriol Hiragizawa, but myself. It wasn't that none of our friends wanted to meet with a childhood friend. On the contrary, five years had made many of them curious as to how Eriol Hiragizawa was doing and to make up for those lost five years. However, while he was a friend, even friends had to prioritize what was more important. Winter was an inconvenient time for many of us. It was as simple as that.

Eriol Hiragizawa was an elusive friend, in my opinion. While he was close, he was still far. I still felt somewhat annoyed at times that I couldn't catch on to his true nature during the Sakura Card incident. His mask was absolutely flawless. Even now, as he walked towards me with that Kodak camera smile and wheeling the small carry-on suitcase of his, I could tell. Back then and now, that mask showed no weaknesses.

Still, I could very well say the same for myself. "Hiragizawa-kun," I said, as he got closer. Like him, I could perform my duties as a friend and the same smile was on my face.

"Daidouji-san, thank you very much for coming out to greet me," he said, extending his hand.

I met his hand with my own in a handshake. "It's been so long. How have you been, Hiragizawa-kun? How were things in England and how is Mizuki-sensei?" I smoothly responded to his greeting with my own, as if we were two business professionals meeting at the airport. I would say that would not be far from the truth. In reality, Eriol Hiragizawa and Tomoyo Daidouji were two people with a professional relationship that happened to coincide with one another due to a certain mistress of the Sakura Cards. Even now, I would not have come out if it weren't for my bubbly and oh so cute friend's pleas that Eriol would be "sad" if no one were here to meet him. I highly doubted the validity of that argument since I highly doubted Eriol Hiragizawa could feel sadness, but if it was for Sakura-chan's smile, I was willing to comply.

"About that," Eriol began, the two of us now walking towards the exit of the airport. "I'll explain later." A strange response. However, it didn't bother me in the slightest. It wasn't as if I was actually curious about Eriol Hiragizawa's life, personal or otherwise, but common courtesy dictated that I act cordially and not pry if it was specifically requested that I don't. "But how is everyone here? How is Sakura-san?"

I wish I could answer the same way that Eriol Hiragizawa just did. To begin with, the fact that she wasn't here would usually set off alarm bells a few kilometers away, maybe to the point where a secret underground organization under Tokyo would mobilize. However, the reason why everyone's favorite heroine, Sakura-chan, wasn't here were far from that. "Everyone's doing fine. Sakura-chan left with Li-kun for their annual visit to Hong Kong a few days ago." Syaoran Li's claims that the dates of said vacation not be changeable due to him having bought the tickets months in advance were to me, his small act of defiance to pay back Eriol Hiragizawa for all the teasing that he was the butt end of years ago. While that was all fun and games, Sakura-chan asked her best friend to go in her place.

And here I was, passing time with small talk with one Eriol Hiragizawa. Sakura-chan, I hope you're happy and not only because you're with Li-kun.

"So I heard," Eriol responded. '_Then don't ask_,' I thought to myself without showing it on my face. "But once again, thank you very much for coming out to get me."

"It's no trouble at all, Hiragizawa-kun. We are friends, after all." Once again, it was a picture perfect duo with equally picture perfect smiles and picture perfect masks. I think that if either of us were into acting, we'd have win an Oscar award by now.

And with that, we arrived at the exit and to Touya-san waiting in his car.

"So where will you be staying?" I asked this to Eriol Hiragizawa. The car was a little cramped in the backseat, but wasn't uncomfortable, except that I was now in close proximity with the man himself. I would have taken the front seat, but it was a small mess of textbooks, job applications, and such, things that Touya Kinomoto deemed necessary and carried around with him at all times. I was not one to judge nor dissuade older brothers in their pursuit of fulfilling college lives and careers. That was my excuse anyway.

"Ah, there actually happens to be another one of Clow Reed's mansions that are in Tomoeda." Ignoring the convenience of such a thing happening, Eriol Hiragizawa calmly gave the address to Touya-san. Afterwards, he turned to me, seemingly eager to keep up our small talk. At the very least, I noted that his Japanese hasn't diminished at all, since the last time I saw him. "I'm surprised that Keroberos decided not to come."

I let a small giggle out at this. I already had expected such a question and thus, was prepared with a response and the aforementioned giggle. "Well, I told Kero-chan that he would probably cause a scene at the airport. You know how he can't sit still for long and I'm sure he would cause a ruckus. He complained a little before I bribed him with some cake." The Tomoyo Daidouji cake is said to be so effective on the guardian of the Sakura Cards that it could probably make him turn on his master. At least, that's what Sakura-chan said to me jokingly. Speaking of Kero-chan, that brought up another thought. "I'm equally surprised that you didn't come back with Akizuki-san or Spinel-san, Hiragizawa-kun." Spinel Sun aside, I could not imagine Nakuru Akizuki missing out on the opportunity to bother both Touya-san and Yukito-san after all these years.

Eriol laughed. "Well, if it's Spinel Sun, he should be meeting me at the mansion. I had him arrive earlier to prepare the place." His mention of there being another mansion of Clow Reed's conveniently located in Tomoeda was once again thrown into suspicion, but I once again let it slide. "As for Ruby Moon, she won't be joining us. She wanted to stay back and finish her studies at Cambridge University."

There was a small bit of surprise value in that last statement for Touya-san. I could see it from how his eyes suddenly shifted onto Eriol Hiragizawa through the rearview mirror. "That Akizuki said that?" It seemed Touya-san was indeed curious.

Eriol Hiragizawa smiled at Touya-san. "Oh, do not worry. It's just that Ruby Moon has finally begun to seriously consider the future. Ruby Moon told me 'I want to stay here. I like this world and the people'. She said you and Yue are an interest to her." Touya-san let a small gulp escape his lips and he went back to concentrating on the road.

I let a small giggle out and faced Eriol Hiragizawa. "It seems that everyone is in good spirits." It was here that I swore for the briefest of moments there was a look on Eriol that looked as if it were real emotion. At least, that was what it seemed like. The moment passed swiftly and I had to wonder if I had ever saw it at all when gazing upon that perfect smile mask again.

"Yes, it seems that everyone is in good spirits, Daidouji-san."

We arrived at the esteemed second mansion of Clow Reed that also happened to be located in Tomoeda. At least, that is what I want to say, but it really looked just like the mansion that Eriol used to live in five years before. The location was different than the first one, since the first one's location was still an amusement park and quite the successful one now. I briefly wondered if there were more of these mansions just lying around in Tomoeda, but abandoned the thought. If this were really Eriol Hiragizawa's doing, then he could easily make a "third" or "fourth" legacy of Clow Reed appear here in Tomoeda that we all happened to miss despite being residents here since the days of our youth. He was a crafty magician, at least. "This is the place," Eriol Hiragizawa said pleasantly, almost as if he were inviting either Touya-san or I to comment on this mansion. Touya-san too could tell the likeness was just too coincidental. He wisely chose to stay in the car while I stepped out with the suspect.

In any case, I wouldn't fall for such a blatant landmine asking to attempt a punchline against this man. He was an equal to me in all aspects of hiding true intent. "It certainly has a nostalgic feeling to it, Hiragizawa-kun," I said, mask in place.

Eriol Hiragizawa didn't seem bothered by this, but then again, he never seemed bothered by anything, save the time he apologized for putting Sakura-chan through that ordeal where he made Sakura-chan turn all of the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. "If you want, you can come in for some tea."

"Another day, perhaps," I answered smoothly, if you don't mind me saying so. "I'm sure you still have to settle in and all. Plus, the flight's a long one, Hiragizawa-kun. So we'll do it another day."

I thought Eriol Hiragizawa would make a sly retort like 'oh, I'm already settled in', but it seemed that we would continue such odd word games at anther time. At least, that's what I thought as he made his way towards the front door of the mansion. Instead, right before he closed the door, he surprised me. "Then I'll look forward to it, Daidouji-san." With that, he disappeared inside and closed the door to the mansion.

"Eh?" Right there, he really did surprise me. That was definitely not an Eriol Hiragizawa-like gesture. I didn't realize it at the time, but this was the defining moment that would start everything.

**Author's Notes:**

And thus, the first chapter in… well, more than one chapter, is completed. If you could not tell, this is going to be a ExT fanfic, so if for whatever reason you were oblivious to that despite there being only two characters talking for most of it, then you have now been fairly told.

If you haven't noticed, Tomoyo's thoughts are a little more… sarcastic than maybe what you're used to. Essentially, the idea is that a more grown up Tomoyo wouldn't be all flowers and kindness. She is her own person with her own problems, but in the end, she's an extraordinarily good person despite her own thoughts and such. Because she is such a strong character, I want this fanfic to shine with her own opinions and at times, snappy comments on various situations.

Finally, if you haven't done the math yet (or didn't care for that matter), +5 years mean that they're around the 16-17-age range, so their second to last year of high school. And for those of you who are wondering, the prologue takes place about two years after that, on Tomoyo's 19th birthday.

Questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome. I'll take them in stride.

Until the next chapter,

animefanrk2k


	2. Afternoon Tea

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura nor its characters. This is a fan-made story based on this great series.

Response to lightprincess14: Yes, I know that Tomoyo's being a little negative, but it's because she sees a bigger picture than most people. And she fully knows that her love for Sakura-chan is going to go unrequited, but she doesn't want to separate from her darling Sakura-chan. In any case, her thoughts will change over time. =]

Note: This is still from Tomoyo's POV.

**Don't Ask by Tomoyo Daidouji**

By animefanrk2k

And here I was in this strange situation. Before me, Meilin-chan was chatting animatedly about life in Hong Kong with myself, Eriol Hiragizawa, and Spinel Sun. While the aforementioned duo, that being Eriol Hiragizawa and myself, were smiling and letting her talk, Spinel Sun was genuinely interested with Meilin-chan's words, having never been to Hong Kong himself. She continued to talk about her family, her school life, her martial arts training, and other such things while Spinel Sun would comment a few times here and there. (It actually turned out that Spinel Sun had only been to England and Japan, so hearing firsthand reports on today's Hong Kong was fascinating for the small guardian.)

However, before I talk about that, I should first mention how this had happened. Turning the clock back around 24 hours before, I had just arrived at my home after departing with Eriol Hiragizawa. Touya-san was kind enough to drop me off after my encounter with the British gentleman. The surprise of our last meeting still fresh in my mind, I should honestly say I was a bit… distracted and did not expect what was to follow.

Chapter 2: Afternoon Tea

Entering my own domicile didn't help matters when I arrived at my room only to find Meilin-chan over a cup of tea talking with another acquaintance. Before anyone gets shocked, I will tell you that Meilin-chan arrived a week earlier to meet both Sakura-chan and Li-kun before they headed off for their trip to Hong Kong. I believe we both had similar ideas about the two. While we were both happy for Sakura-chan and Li-kun, neither of us particularly liked the fact that our respective loved ones were happy with each other. So, Meilin-chan came up with this brilliant excuse that while Li-kun, and of course Sakura-chan with him, were visiting the homeland of the Li Clan, she would spend that time to vacation in Japan. It was a brilliant strategy that allowed Meilin-chan minimal contact with the Li-kun and Sakura-chan pair being mushy with one another and for her to catch up with old friends here.

In any case, this meant that it wasn't Meilin-chan that surprised me, but the acquaintance. While I had only met him a few times in person, he was definitely an unmistakable being. Before I could speak, Meilin-chan had noticed my presence. "Ah, Tomoyo, back from the airport?"

I nodded once before looking at the strange visitor once more. "Meilin-chan… this is?"

Spinel Sun calmly sipped the black tea that had been served to him. I would later find out that Meilin-chan had lied and said the second tea cup was for me, who would be coming back soon. 'Good timing too!' she would exclaim later. For now, Meilin-chan turned back and laughed. "Ah, this guy? He looked cold outside, so I let him in and asked him why he came over here. Actually, he's here for you. He's pretty interesting."

Spinel Sun then spoke, taking his cue smoothly. "Daidouji-san." It felt odd being addressed by someone just about Kero-chan's size in this manner. "My master had remembered that he did not make any of the arrangements for the tea party, so he asked me to relay a message. Would you be free tomorrow afternoon?" He glanced at Meilin-chan. "Of course, we'll gladly extend the invitation to Meilin-san. Master has expressed interest in meeting the cousin of Syaoran Li as well."

Meilin-chan smiled. "Let's go, Tomoyo!" Meilin-chan had not met any of her other friends yet except Sakura-chan and I. Tomorrow, we had dinner plans to meet Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun, so the afternoon slot was certainly free.

After carefully thinking it over, I gave my affirmative to Spinel Sun. "Yes, we'll be glad to Spinel-san. Could we arrange the time at your place around three in the afternoon?"

"Yes, that will be just fine, Daidouji-san," Spinel Sun responded. It was here that I finally realized the oddness in the way Spinel Sun addressed me.

"Oh, 'Tomoyo' is fine."

"Pardon?" The small cat-like guardian looked at me.

"When addressing me, 'Tomoyo' is fine, Spinel-san. It's what Kero-chan uses to address me too." I smiled at the small guardian.

His quizzical glance then softened into a small smile. "Then I will keep that in mind, Tomoyo-san."

With the time decided, Meilin-chan thought it best to eat the cake that the servants had brought us. However, I couldn't warn her of the dangers of such an action and thus, she kindly offered and fed the poor guardian some of his weakness, sugar. Spinel Sun then spent the next few hours causing a rampage in my room.

Personally, I think the maids were very skeptical of my excuse that a stray cat had jumped in from the balcony and caused the mess. Of course, they didn't know how close to the truth that excuse rang.

Back to the present, which was about twenty four hours later, it was at this time that Meilin-chan and Spinel Sun decided to go off and play some video games with one another. Despite Spinel Sun's cool demeanor, he was actually quite competitive about these little things. Then again, his habit of reading seemed to say that Spinel Sun had a thirst for knowledge.

Eriol Hiragizawa and I met eyes after the pair left and we both smiled at each other. Once again, it was fake smile against fake smile that couldn't be differentiated from one another. Eriol was the one that broke the silence. "This is peaceful." He took another sip of tea.

I had to admit that this homebrew was quite exquisite so I took his lead and also took a small sip of the fragrant rosemary blend. "Well, we are simply going about our ordinary lives, Hiragizawa-kun. Peace is to be expected." This unreadable man aside, I really felt at ease, almost to the point that the smile I had on my face could be considered natural, a thing of rarity in more recent years.

However, the unreadable man wasn't as unreadable as I thought. The faintest hint of emotion came across Eriol Hiragizawa's face. Unlike the illusion of the day before, he didn't try to hide the small crack in his mask and instead looked to me directly. "Do you think that our lives are truly ordinary?"

In the spur of the moment and surprise of the sudden situation, I gave him a blunt, honest answer. "We're hardly normal, are we?" Eriol Hiragizawa's face was priceless, almost as if he were a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. I'm sure I would have had the same expression if I were him at that moment. However, I then realized that it was I who had caused such a face and quickly tried to cover up. "I mean, none of us can hardly say we are ordinary after the incidents with the Clow Cards," I said, forcing my perfect smile to stay in its best form.

At this comment, Eriol Hiragizawa chuckled a little. "Daidouji-san, you're absolutely right." However, the chuckle wasn't a happy one and a very poor attempt at hiding what he was feeling. This was certainly an emotion that Eriol Hiragizawa was showing. He briefly glanced over to where Meilin-chan and Spinel Sun were completely engrossed in their video game in the den. A few moments passed with him watching the two before he looked straight at me. This time, he had a serious expression on his face. He finally spoke. "Kaho broke up with me."

A few moments of silence passed between us. Kaho Mizuki was our former substitute mathematics teacher in fifth grade and someone who was deeply involved with Eriol Hiragizawa. She was a plethora of kindness and good will, so much that I would never believe she would break their relationship. After all, the two seemed to be perfect for one another. "I see," I answered.

I really did not know what to say. I thought that Eriol Hiragizawa would be the same mischievous and masked Eriol Hiragizawa that I knew from childhood days. A few minutes passed by in silence, both of us unsure how to proceed with the conversation, before Meilin-chan declared victory over Spinel Sun in their puzzle game.

Eriol Hiragizawa saw us off at the door. By now, he had already placed his mask in place. In fact, we both regained our composure and were back to being our old unreadable selves. "It was a pleasure to have the two of you over."

Meilin-chan gave him a hearty handshake. "It was fun, Hiragizawa-kun."

"Yes, thanks for inviting us," I added. While I was smiling on the outside, thoughts of Eriol's words before were already swirling inside of me and suddenly, the big mansion seemed a little too big for just a guardian and his master. For a moment, I imagined what it would have been like for me to pass my time with no servants, no family, and no friends in my home. He said before that Mizuki-sensei broke up with him. Mizuki-sensei was someone that Eriol had deemed important to him. While he didn't show it, there was no way that it would not affect him and his sudden invitation to his home finally became clear.

He was lonely.

While I didn't know the full details, I knew that Eriol Hiragizawa was no normal youth and thus, did not live a normal life in England. At the very least, there was never any mention of him leaving his mansion from his letters to Sakura-chan. I heard from Touya-san that Nakuru Akizuki even had to lie about her address to properly attend school in England and thus, could not contact her master regularly while she was off at her university's dorms. If that lively Nakuru Akizuki was away and Mizuki-sensei had broken up with Eriol, I could only imagine how this man must be feeling inside. After all, I wouldn't be able to survive without my mother or Sakura-chan.

It was then that the idea popped into my head. Later tonight, Meilin-chan and I were going to dinner together to meet a few familiar faces. "Hiragizawa-kun!" Eriol looked quite startled at me as I began to speak, the words coming out as quickly as the idea formed in my head. "Meilin-chan and I are going to meet up with Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun for dinner tonight. I know that we had made plans for everyone to meet later this week, but would you like to join us for tonight too?"

Eriol still had a surprised look on his face while Meilin-chan began to chime in. "Yes, the more the merrier, they say. Why don't you join us? We're all friends, right? It'll be fun."

Eriol Hiragizawa quickly gained his perfect mask. "Ah, yes, but I must decline for tonight. I have… matters to attend to."

It was an obvious lie to me and normally, I would have been fine with accepting such an answer. After all, to each his or her own was the saying, right? However, leaving him alone would certainly do no good. I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad about this, but my best friend's somewhat meddlesome side to always do the right thing and help a friend in need had rubbed off on me. At the very least, I wouldn't consider this trait to be a bad one to have. In any case, I walked right up to Eriol and brought my face close to his. His eyes opened wide in surprise. "Daidouji-san?"

A smirk crossed my lips. "Eriol-san, are we not friends?" It was my best "I have complete control of the situation" smile.

And it was working. "Y… yes," he stuttered out, almost like a kid caught red-handed by his mother when he was misbehaving.

"Do you have casual wear and warm clothing for the evening?"

"Yes." This time, his answer came out more clearly.

"Then you'll be ready by seven, right Eriol-san?"

"Yes," he said with a small gulp before realizing what I had just asked him. "Eh?"

With that, I turned to Meilin-chan. "Let's go. We'll see you at seven, Eriol-san. Don't keep us ladies waiting." Meilin-chan was chuckling as the two of us left. While Eriol stood there dumbfounded about the situation, we gave him our best over exaggerated waves possible.

For now, I had gotten my revenge from yesterday.

Or so I would have wanted to end it like this, but for some odd reason, Meilin-chan was still chuckling to herself. When we left earshot of the Hiragizawa mansion, she finally stopped chuckling, but the smile never left her face. "Tomoyo, I never knew you had it in you."

"What do you mean, Meilin-chan?" I was clearly confused by her odd comment.

"I just never thought that you'd be that forceful." Meilin-chan seemed to be holding back a few laughs. "I mean, this is certainly a surprise. Tomoyo Daidouji just invited a guy out!"

As her words sank in, I stopped in my tracks. Indeed, while it was the meddlesome good girl part of me that had done it, I had definitely just invited a guy out like Meilin-chan said. "It… it's not like that!" Oh no! The heat was already rising to my head. I knew that I had turned beet-red at Meilin-chan's comment. "It really isn't! I… was I that forceful? What should I do? No… calm down, calm down!"

As I lost my cool, Meilin-chan laughed at my antics all the way to our bus stop.

**Author's Notes:**

And that's another chapter for the books! Originally, this chapter was supposed to be much longer, but because of the way I paced it and moved around ideas and stuff here and there, I decided to split the stuff I have into two separate chapters. The next chapter will obviously be covering the dinner and probably will be out sooner than this one was.

For the process of writing this, I usually start with a hard copy in my notebook. I then type it in Word, correcting any grammatical errors I see on the way and expanding or rewording sentences to make more sense. Then, I load the document and repeat the process again while bolding the title of the story and such. It goes through one final read through here too.

Hopefully, you'll get a better grasp of Tomoyo's personality as the story goes on. There's a reason why I started the first chapter the way I did and why things are paced the way they are.

In any case, please read, review, and comment at your own leisure.

Until next chapter,

animefanrk2k


	3. That Boy Who Cried Wolf

Disclaimer: Please reference Chapter 01, Section: Disclaimer for further information.

Note: From Tomoyo's POV

**Don't Ask by Tomoyo Daidouji**

By animefanrk2k

As I got ready for dinner tonight, Meilin-chan continued to tease me about Eriol. If I didn't threaten to dress her in frills and lace that would make any of Sakura-chan's old costumes look tame in comparison, she might have gone on all dinner and all night about it.

As such, she was much more calm when I approached the subject later. "I'm only trying to be a good friend to him." I gave a small huff of annoyance as I was trying to explain the situation to Meilin-chan while she helped me with my hair. It was obvious from the looks she kept giving me that she was still skeptical about it. "It's just that..."

I couldn't exactly tell her about the incident with Mizuki-sensei. Meilin-chan was highly uninformed about some of the things that happened around Eriol. It was due to the fact that Sakura-chan didn't really talk about it much, since she would rather talk about other things, Li-kun wasn't exactly on good terms with Eriol, and I never really knew him that well. Plus, Meilin-chan hadn't really met Eriol until today. In any case, I had already filed the Mizuki-sensei and Eriol topic as a taboo subject that shouldn't be approached without caution. I thought up a quick excuse to ease me out of the current situation I was in instead. "I just didn't want him to be left out. Sakura-chan would scold me if I didn't invite him in that situation." Then again, knowing Sakura-chan, she would have dragged him out the night of his arrival for dinner and time to catch up. She did the same for Meilin-chan every time she came to visit anyway. I sometimes questioned how Sakura-chan could even remain comfortable with that too perfect smile of Eriol's, but I just write it off as Sakura-chan being a tad too trusting to think that his smile was anything but insincere. I did admit that that smile had fooled me when I found him to be the suitable love rival development for one Syaoran Li back during our childhood days.

Luckily, mentioning Sakura-chan's name always proved to be an effective means of getting Meilin-chan to talk about her instead. "How're things here with Sakura-chan anyway? Whenever I see her, everything is fine and dandy except for the fact that it's always with Syaoran too. Knowing our Sakura, I couldn't imagine her spending any alone time with anyone else anymore. He's practically become her shadow."

"Don't ask," I responded with a sigh. It was true that Sakura-chan in full love-love mode was the cutest Sakura-chan ever, but those emerald eyes only looked at one person in that way and it was the glaring wolf who only looked warmly on her. It was painful to think that her innocent smile was now almost exclusively for Li-kun. I mean, it wasn't that I was not happy for her. In fact, I could say that everyone was happy for her. However...

"It's just a little frustrating," Meilin-chan said, as if to finish the thoughts in my head. She let out a loud sigh. "We put a lot into getting those two numbskulls together, but where's our happiness?"

"Yeah," I added.

The two of us remained silent for a few moments lost in our melancholy before there was a knock at the door. "My lady, it is nearing the appointed time."

Both Meilin-chan and I glanced over at the clock and realized we only had a few more moments before we'd have to get going. Sad thoughts now buried in the back of our minds, we began getting ready in earnest again.

Chapter 3: That Boy Who Cried Wolf

Luckily, our depressing thoughts and mood vanished with our urge to make it in time to Eriol's house and we arrived in front to find Eriol Hiragizawa himself waiting outside for us. "You're late."

Despite his comment, he was smiling as pleasantly as ever. I wondered if I should act boldly and make him frightful like I did before, but Meilin-chan took the lead before I could. "Sorry! We would have been on time if Tomoyo hadn't insisted on changing all of her clothing."

A weakness. While I begrudged my habit of always having on a fresh new outfit for every occasion that I stepped out, Eriol came up to me. He brought his face just a tad too close to mine as he said, "So it was your fault then."

I felt myself wilt a little under that calm gaze of his and looked away. "Sorry," I said a little embarrassed.

"Oh, you don't have to be... Tomoyo." His deep voice passed over me and I quickly glanced up at him, but he had already begun walking towards the town with Meilin-chan following. "Let's be off, unless Tomoyo-san causes us to be late in meeting Mihara-san and Yamazaki-kun." Once again, I could feel the blood rushing to my head in embarrassment and this time, it wasn't only because this was a humiliating situation for me.

I would never admit it, but my heart skipped a beat when he had said my name.

As we walked to town, I hung back just behind Eriol and Meilin-chan. The two of them, I had to admit, were probably tied as those who were the second greatest weakness to Tomoyo Daidouji. Not to sound overly confident, but their was no one who could pinpoint my weaknesses directly until I became friends with Meilin-chan and there was no one who had been completely unreadable to me until I met Eriol. Of course, my biggest weakness would be Sakura-chan, but that is for more obvious reasons.

In any case, Eriol and Meilin-chan were now finally conversing directly to each other. "Meilin-san, I know that you described life in Hong Kong. I was wondering if you could tell me a few more details about your family."

"My family? Why is that?" Despite Meilin-chan's vocal moments and sometimes-flamboyant actions, she was a hard person to pinpoint. Because she acted and spoke out a lot, one would perceive her as a very friendly and normal girl. It was because of that that things such as the fact that Meilin-chan is very sharp in human observation get ignored or unnoticed by most. Therefore, she has always been rather careful in her word choice in more recent years to the point that you could only suspect she says and does the things she does on purpose, to an extent. She still falls for Yamazaki-kun's lies.

Eriol smiled at Meilin-chan. "It is just that I have an interest in those that have descended from Clow Reed."

"Because you're his reincarnation," Meilin-chan finished for him. "That doesn't seem like the reason at all." I noticed that Eriol's brow twitched at that statement. She smiled. "Why can't you say you're just worried about it?"

"Eh?" I amusedly watched as Eriol was a little surprised at Meilin-chan. Meilin-chan disliked it when people didn't say what they were thinking directly and she usually was able to perceive what someone was thinking without any effort.

"It's not because you're some reincarnation of an ancient wizard. You've inherited the memories of Clow Reed and thus, you know the inner workings of the place." At this, I silently nodded. The Li Clan was a strict one, but with the heir to that throne constantly away, it would be a no-brainer that tensions may be running high, especially with the elders.

Eriol gave a small nod. "You have me beat, Meilin Li. It is as you say. I was curious, since you are a being with very little magic, if at all. I can barely register your presence."

Meilin laughed. "Well, that's because I am a master of martial arts. Unlike magic, which is hard to mask fully, I'm trained, so I'm good at sensing things that are natural and unnatural." She winked at Eriol. "And I'm also pretty good at hiding my own aura." It wasn't a brag, but a fact that Meilin-chan could sense Syaoran's magical presence, though she described it as his chi having a certain hue or color to it.

"Not a spiritual aura, but one of chi. Clow Reed indeed did say that the toughest opponents were those based in the physical plane."

As the two talked animatedly about the topic, I really couldn't add much to the conversation and walked behind them, listening to their conversation on the Li Clan today. I had to admit that I felt a little left out. We soon arrived and met Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun at the shopping area.

"Eh, so you're back to continue school," Chiharu-san said to Eriol. It was news to me that the reason he had come back was to complete his schooling here in Japan. At the very least, I just assumed he came here to get away from his ex-lover.

Eriol, as flawless with his words as ever in these social situations, responded, "Yes, while England was very kind to me, I felt it only right to come back here to finish my education. After all, Tomoeda is also my home."

We were situated in a small restaurant in the downtown shopping strip of Tomoeda. It was a few blocks away from where we had met Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun. Apparently, this spot had excellent tempura that would, according to Yamazaki-kun, "increase your fortunes with love". Needless to say, Meilin-chan swallowed the tale hook, line, and sinker and had a bowl of shrimp tempura udon right in front of her.

In any case, since that I now found out he'd actually be attending school, the question of where had crossed my mind. "Eriol-san, are you going to Seiju High School or Tomoeda Public?" Seiju High School was a school for those more privileged. We would go from Tomoeda Elementary School to Seiju High School. However, due to familial issues, Chiharu-san decided to continue her high school education at Tomoeda Public High School. Yamazaki-kun had followed suit. I don't know the full details, but at Tomoeda Public, some incident had made them a famous couple.

"Actually, I'll be attending Seiju," Eriol replied. It was the same school that Touya-san and Tsukishiro-san, or Yue-san, had attended in the past. Currently, I was attending there along with Sakura-chan, Li-kun, and Naoko-san. As to why Naoko-san wasn't here tonight, she had become somewhat of a school legend, spending most of her time in the library even during her days off. However, that was a story for another day.

"Then, it will be sad without you, my comrade-in-arms," Yamazaki chipped in.

"Don't worry, Yamazaki-kun. So long as we hold the legend of the two schools in our hearts, we'll always be good friends," Eriol said.

"What legend?" Meilin-chan innocently triggered the landmine of this blatant setup. She could be very cute and naïve at times, just like a certain brown-haired girl spending her vacation in Hong Kong right now. In any case, I smiled through it while Chiharu-san let out a defeated sigh as a long tale of rivalry, turned friendship, turned to betrayal and tragedy began to unfold about the eventual founders of Tomoeda Public and Seiji High, Masashiro Tomoeda and Shuichi Seiju.

For the record, both names are falsified and in no way affiliated with either of the schools in question.

"That was an enjoyable meal," I said to no one in particular, stepping outside of the restaurant. Eriol and Yamazaki-kun's grand story had garnered the attention of more than just us five. Their audience extended to many of the customers, the workers, and even the owner of the eatery in question, ending with a round of applause from everybody and the owner even crying tears of joy over such a touching tall tale. Even Chiharu-san begrudgingly admitted that was quite the interesting story. "Just this once, I'll let it slide," she said before.

"It was certainly an eventful one," Eriol said, responding to my earlier comment on the meal. He and Yamazaki-kun walked out of the restaurant with a few free meal tickets. They were in high spirits as those meal tickets also accounted for today's meal.

Chiharu-san gave a small sigh, but even she couldn't hide the smile on her face. These days, Yamazaki-kun rarely went into his storyteller mode, having no real audience to work with without Li-kun and Sakura-chan to fall for his lies. Chiharu-san said, "I hope this doesn't become a trend."

"Don't worry, Chiharu-chan," Yamazaki-kun said to her. "I'll only tell stories when Hiragizawa-kun is around." Our group had another laugh together.

And like this, we said our farewells for the evening and departed for our homes. Meilin-chan, Eriol, and I walked together towards his mansion. Once again, it seemed that Meilin-chan was in good spirits and was talking it up again with Eriol. As the two laughed together again, I recalled the feeling I had before when they talked like this. I then shook the feeling that was growing out of my system. No, they weren't Sakura-chan and Syaoran Li. I already gave them my blessing. He wasn't stealing her away from me. She wasn't taken from me. She was never mine to begin with.

"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow for tea," Eriol said, breaking my thoughts.

Meilin-chan happily waved. "Don't worry, Tomoyo and I will be here."

Apparently, we had already arrived at Eriol's mansion and were seeing him off. I also gave a small wave to him, which he returned back. He then disappeared into the mansion and Meilin-chan and I made our way to the bus stop. For some reason, the thoughts lingered in my head until I realized that Meilin-chan had agreed to tea at Eriol's mansion tomorrow. Before I could say anything, Meilin-chan broke the silence. "I didn't know that those high schools had such a history of battle and bloodshed." I blinked at Meilin-chan while she clenched her fist. "I'll be as strong as those to in both body and spirit."

I could almost feel the chi that was flowing from Meilin-chan. "Umm... Meilin-chan?"

"What?" She had actually taken a stance and there was a threatening atmosphere around her. Was she really planning on practicing right here as we waited for the bus?

"You know that the story was a lie, right?"

Almost immediately, the mood returned to normal and the clueless Meilin-chan turned to look at me. "Really?"

I couldn't help but stare at her with an amused smile on my face.

**Author's Notes:**

Before I split this with the previous chapter, there was almost no semblance of a possible ExT relationship added in. Transferring it over to a digital medium, I had to expand it a little bit and just kind of winged it. I hope it turned out okay.

There is more in this chapter than you'd first expect, such as the blatant admission of one Rika Sasaki. Her story will be mentioned later, but let me tell you that she's not in Tomoeda anymore. As for Meilin, I've dropped some blatantly obvious clues as to what type of person she has become. She has always been very strong-willed and I think that is one of her good aspects. She is also very direct and honest, which makes her stand out in most situations. Unlike Syaoran, who always seems uncertain when it comes to acting on what you're feeling, Meilin acts on her instincts and therefore is more confident in her actions than her cousin probably will ever be.

As per usual, please read, comment, and review if you are willing to.

Until next chapter,

animefanrk2k


	4. She Isn’t Coming Back To Me

Disclaimer: The following fanfic will contain blatantly obvious references to Cardcaptor Sakura, it being a Cardcaptor Sakura fanfic. This is a non-profit story written for your enjoyment. Any references to any other series are also not my property.

Response to lightprincess14: I'm happy so long as people are reading, so thank you for reading and reviewing. And I'll cover a bit about the manga/anime later on. For now, the series is based on the Japanese subbed anime series. =]

Response to cheng: Thank you.

Note: It's still from Tomoyo's POV.

**Don't Ask by Tomoyo Daidouji**

By animefanrk2k

"This one looks good," Meilin-chan mused, eying a row of chocolate-covered fruit tarts. It's been one week since Eriol had come back to Tomoeda. Ever since he arrived, him, Meilin-chan, and myself have become an odd trio I guess. I don't know when it happened, but going to the Hiragizawa mansion in the afternoon had become our daily ritual where we would relax and chat over some snacks and homebrewed tea. Meilin-chan and I would purposely plan meetings with friends either earlier in the day or in the evenings for this. It surprised me that not only did this happen suddenly, but it felt almost natural to have tea at Eriol's home on a daily basis. Today, Meilin-chan and I were out buying some confectionery for the awaiting tea, though it was mostly Meilin-chan doing the buying. It was her idea to bring some sweets over, so I left her to decide what to buy.

"Excuse me, I'd like four of these to go!" Meilin-chan called out to one of the workers at this particular bakery while pointing at the chocolate-covered treat behind the glass counter.

The worker that came over to help was a young man that I'd guess was probably only a few years older than we are. He took a glance over Meilin-chan and apparently, he liked what he saw. "So what can I get you?" Cocky, arrogant, and you could tell from the smile on his face that he thought he was fooling everyone.

Of course, Meilin-chan couldn't care less about things like that. "I'd like four of these to go," she said, tapping on the glass in front of the fruit tarts she wanted, not even glancing at the worker.

"Uh, right away!" Pride somewhat hurt, I watched as the young man packed the four chocolate-covered fruit tarts carefully. He then placed them on the counter. "Your total is 700 yen."

As Meilin-chan counted out the coins and handed them over, the guy quite obviously tried to brush his hand with hers, probably in an attempt to make idle conversation over an apology. 'Player,' I thought. I almost snickered out loud though when Meilin-chan gave him a death glare that probably just chilled him to the bones. She dropped the coins in his hand and picked up the cakes. "Thanks," she said, an ominous smile on her face.

With that, we left the store and headed to Eriol's mansion for our sixth afternoon tea party.

Chapter 4: She Isn't Coming Back To Me

It was another afternoon at the Hiragizawa mansion. To my left sat Meilin-chan, sipping on today's lavender tea with a blissful smile. Spinel Sun, sitting across from me, was slowly working on the chocolate-covered fruit tart we had brought over. Though he protested the sweets at first, due to the fact he got drunk off of sugar, he had slowly learned to control his eating, so that he would only get mildly affected by the sugar and has come to enjoy the sweets we began bringing over. 'Like a fine brandy,' he said as a joke. Eriol sat to my right. We were situated in the den today. Since it was colder than usual outside, Eriol had a fire going, so we were pretty cozy in there. In all honesty, if I felt any more relaxed, I might actually say I enjoyed coming here on a daily basis and wouldn't mind continuing to do so all throughout the school year.

For now, we silently sipped at our tea and ate our sweets. A few of the days, we were a little louder like the first time we had arrived, but today, it felt like a good time to just enjoy ourselves peacefully. Speaking of that first time, I wondered if I should bring up the subject of Mizuki-sensei with Eriol in private. My thoughts briefly lingered to that moment and I mused if he would ever broach the subject on his own again.

However, that day would come another time, since Eriol suddenly stood up. Spinel Sun, Meilin-chan, and I all glanced at him. The three of us sent him quizzical glances, to which he replied, "It seems we have a visitor."

Sure enough, the bell to the house rang out loudly and Eriol made his way to the front door. We heard a few low voices before Eriol had come back to the den. He actually looked quite bewildered, a thing that amused me a lot more than I had thought it would. After all, making that flawless man confused was quite a feat. "Meilin-san, this guest is actually here to greet you."

Behind Eriol stood a young lady in a qipao, a Chinese-style long dress, who had long blue hair parted in the center and dark blue eyes. She flashed a brilliant smile and bowed to us before standing herself straight again, her hair falling into place once more. "Meilin-sama, it's a pleasure to be in your service again!"

Meilin-chan abruptly stood up from her chair in surprise. Spinel Sun and I looked to her. I gave her my best questioning smile. "Who is this?"

The twin-tailed girl gave a small sigh, as she looked for the right words for the situation. "Well, she's..."

The newcomer immediately took control instead. "I am sorry for my late introduction. I am Misa Mikiya, a person who has devoted myself life, body, and spirit, to Meilin-sama," she proudly pronounced.

The room went silent once more before Spinel Sun calmly put down his piece of fruit tart he was about to eat. "I remember someone once said that 'love is like a hurricane'."

I looked over to Meilin-chan. "It's okay, Meilin-chan. I am not one to judge other people's tastes in lovers. If there are a hundred people, there are a hundred ways to love."

"No, it's not like that!" Meilin-chan was blushing furiously. "She's just my bodyguard from Hong Kong!"

"Just? How can you be so cruel, Meilin-sama? After all we've been through..." Misa Mikiya pretended to tear up.

"You! Stop messing around," Meilin-chan said, pointing at said bodyguard.

After we all had settled down once more, Misa Mikiya gave her full introduction in earnest. "I am Misa Mikiya. I serve as Meilin-sama's personal attendant and bodyguard, though the 'bodyguard' part is in name only now." She smiled at Meilin-chan. "Meilin-sama is already strong enough that she doesn't require anything, but minimal assistance in combat."

I had suspected it over the years, but it seems like Meilin-chan really did become much stronger. She coughed lightly after Misa Mikiya finished her introduction. "Well, Misa, it's nice to see you and all, but what are you doing here?"

"Meilin-sama, I came here two days ago, but you never appeared at the apartment complex, so I grew worried and sought you out on my own." The Li Clan had purchased their own apartment complex here in Tomoeda. While I had no idea as to why they bought the entire building, I knew that it was the place that Li-kun and Meilin-chan were supposed to be staying when they were over here in Japan. Right now, Meilin-chan had become a temporary resident of my house.

"Oh, sorry about that. But... what was so urgent that you had to find me here?" I briefly wondered if it was strange that I had no idea how Misa Mikiya found Meilin-chan here in the first place. Perhaps, it was one of many things to be written off as a "mystery".

At Meilin-chan's question, Misa Mikiya immediately kneeled before her. "I have a class one priority, class two confidentiality message directly from Yelan Li-sama to be delivered to Representative of the Li Clan, Meilin Li-sama, as soon as possible." Yelan Li was Syaoran Li's mother and leader of the Li Clan back in Hong Kong.

"Class two confidentiality... okay, then you can relay it here. These are trusted friends of mine." Meilin-chan gave a small nod of approval to us and the three of us who were listening in also gave a small nod back to her.

Misa Mikiya didn't raise her head. "As you wish, Meilin-sama. These are the absolute orders from the Elders. Effective immediately, Meilin Li-sama is to continue her education here in Tomoeda, Japan at Seiju High School."

After the information was absorbed, we questioningly looked to Meilin-chan. It seemed that she also didn't know the reason. "Why, all of a sudden?"

Misa Mikiya continued when prompted by Meilin-chan. "Due to Meilin-sama's accomplishments in recent years as Representative of the Li Clan, the Elders have deemed Meilin-sama to be a threat to Syaoran Li-sama's succession to the household Li." Misa Mikiya finally looked up at Meilin-chan, a slightly sad expression on her face. "I am sorry, but you've really torn the family's opinions into two on who should succeed the Clan."

Apparently, Meilin-chan had become somewhat famous within her family. I had heard that she was attending meetings and such with her aunt, Yelan Li, but to think that she had actually won over influence within her family, I think it was quite the accomplishment. Meilin-chan sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Well, if it's those old geezers, I guess it can't be helped. They really worry about everything."

"There is one more thing, Meilin-sama," Misa said. We all looked to the bodyguard once more. "While this doesn't directly affect you, Meilin-sama, Yelan-sama insisted that I tell you this too." Misa paused for a moment and looked at each of us. She sighed to herself. "Effective immediately as well, both Syaoran Li-sama and Sakura Kinomoto-sama are to finish their current respective high school semesters in Hong Kong."

"What?!" Everyone was surprised at the sudden outburst and turned to the origin of it. Unfortunately, the origin was me. While I had listened calmly over the situation, I was anything but calm now. However, I took a deep breath and settled myself down. Rationality would be good. It could just be a mistake after all, right? "Sakura-chan is going to spend the next half year in Hong Kong? She has nothing to do with this, right?"

Misa Mikiya shook her head. "She has everything to do with this situation. They want to keep Meilin-sama away so that Syaoran-sama can rebuild his image and standing in the Li Clan. To do this, he needs the support of the sorceress who was able to transform the entirety of Clow Reed's magic into her own. She is a rarity in her own right, far more valuable than anything else that Syaoran-sama can show. His relationship with Sakura Kinomoto-sama is one of the few things that bolster his reputation within the Clan."

At this, I grew angry and stood from my chair. "This must be some kind of mistake! Sakura-chan isn't a commodity to be treated as 'rare' or 'valuable'. She isn't a tool, an ends to someone's means. What do you know about her?"

Misa looked straight at me. "It was Sakura-sama herself who said that she wanted to be by his side! Despite all of this, she was the one that insisted on staying behind."

At that comment, I couldn't say anything else. "Ha... ha... ha..." My empty laughter came out. Sakura-chan had made her choice a long time ago, so I thought that as long as I watched over her happiness that she would stay happy and that would become my happiness as well. However, as the years went by, I began to notice it. Even when I wasn't watching, she was happy. Even without me there anymore, she could be strong. Because, in the end, her most important person loved her back. So, she would be fine so long as Syaoran Li loved her. It was as simple as that and those words affirmed this fact once more. I had remained stagnant these past years while Sakura-chan had developed into an amazing and amazingly kind person, the kind of person that I would hold dear for the rest of my life.

"Tomoyo." Meilin-chan walked over to me.

The tears began to fall. This time, I really couldn't throw on a mask and pretend everything was okay. After all, Sakura-chan had admitted she would be fine without me, her best friend, by her side. She would be happy without me. However, I couldn't bear to be apart from Sakura-chan. She was my everything and to even be denied her face, her voice, her warmth... that was something I couldn't live without. "I know! I'll... I'll transfer to Hong Kong too. I can transfer schools and I'm sure mother has business relations around the world, so..."

Meilin-chan hugged me tightly. "Tomoyo," she whispered. Her voice was soothing, almost like my mother's voice was whenever she comforted me. I hugged her back and cried. The lap that I had lent to Meilin-chan so many years back was now returned with interest as I cried what I felt was a lifetime's worth of tears into Meilin-chan's shoulder.

When my eyes opened again, it was already dark. After my total breakdown from before, I had grown tired and must have fainted. Right now, I was still in the Hiragizawa mansion, but in a guest room. My clothing was changed into what appeared to be pajamas. I assumed that they were probably one of Ruby Moon's old sets.

As I sat up, a knock came from the door and Misa Mikiya walked in, a tray of food in her hand. Apparently, I had given her a dirty look because she chuckled and placed the tray of food on the nightstand next to the bed. "Please don't glare at me like that, Tomoyo-sama." I looked away from her and concentrated on the folds of the bed sheet I was under. We passed a few moments in silence, me sitting on the bed and her standing next to it. Finally, it was she who had broken the silence between us. "I am terribly sorry about before."

She bowed her head to me and I looked over at her. I thought for sure that she would simply say that she was just being the messenger and all of that. "Why?"

Misa raised her head and looked directly at me. She had an apologetic look on her face. "Meilin-sama admonished me. However, I would have come to apologize even without Meilin-sama's punishment." She kneeled down next to bed. I didn't realize it, but she was pretty tall. She could probably pass as a model without problems. "Tomoyo-sama, I was able to speak with Sakura-sama before I left to come to Tomoeda."

"Eh?"

"Yes, she was a very strange girl, to the point where I couldn't believe she was the sorceress of the former Clow Cards." I noticed that the smile on Misa's face was different from the few she had shown before. It seemed to speak of age and wisdom. "She was a girl with a big heart and strong will. Excuse me for saying this, but the Li Clan has many dark secrets about it. I was worried that they might use her like they used resources like me." Misa shook her head. "I'm sorry. Meilin-sama would scold me if I spoke of myself like that."

I got a clearer picture of the type of person Misa Mikiya was while she continued to speak to me. She was used by the Li Clan as a weapon, a tool, which upon failure could be discarded for a better tool. In that regard, she was no better than a "resource". However, upon meeting Meilin-chan, Meilin-chan had taught her about being your own person, about having pride in individuality, and to accept the fact that humans are beings capable of emotion.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I went about it in such a long way," Misa finally said about ten minutes down the line. "When I voiced my concerns to Sakura-sama that she may be used in such a way, she told me only these words: 'I'll definitely be all right'."

I couldn't help but smile at that. Indeed, those words were Sakura's magical spell in times of crisis. She told herself to the point where she now believed it that no matter what happens, she would be all right. In the end, she had just been the Sakura-chan she always was and Li-kun was in need of her so that he too could be strong to the Elders of the Li Clan. I sighed, admitting in my heart that perhaps I had overreacted a tad before. If Sakura-chan was need by her most important person, then I, as her best friend, had to understand and accept that. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Oh, not at all, Tomoyo-sama. I hope the food meets your tastes. Meilin-sama has already contacted your household, so they won't worry if you spend the night out." With that, the strange bodyguard left.

Still, I didn't have much of an appetite and now that I've calmed down, I really did feel quite tired. I laid back down in bed and went to sleep. It was a dreamless, dark sleep.

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter is a plot twist chapter, adding an element to help move the story on for successive chapters. In addition, this adds the inclusion of a character of my creation. I played around with potential Clan politics a lot and I hope I didn't offend anyone with the notion of people using other people as tools and whatnot. I know I painted the Li Clan's Elders in an unfavorable light here, but bear with it. There is good and bad in everything, after all.

Tomoyo became very emotional here, which makes sense because there is never a time where she spends any extended periods away from her beloved Sakura.

To address the issue of manga versus anime (Japanese) versus anime (English), this is based upon the Japanese anime version. Things of note are the inclusion of Meilin Li in the story, the fact that many of the existing relationships are only hinted at and not explicitly stated but DO exist, and details about the Li Clan such as Yelan Li, Syaoran's mother, and such. So if anything confuses you, feel free to ask. =]

As always, questions, comments, and criticisms are welcome.

Until next chapter,

animefanrk2k


	5. One Morning

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura is property of Syaoran Li... er... Clamp and those affiliated in the creation of the anime and manga.

Response to lightprincess14: Hopefully, there'll be plenty of other surprises to look forward to too. =]

Response to XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX: I tried to get her emotions down as best as I could, so thank you. ^^

Response to cheng and tomoyo-amethyst: Here's the [maybe] long-awaited update!

Note: This is from Tomoyo's POV.

**Don't Ask by Tomoyo Daidouji**

By animefanrk2k

I awoke in an unfamiliar bedroom. Taking a look around, I realized that the room had a distinct European feel that felt right at home with the rest of the Hiragizawa mansion. I also realized that the plate of food I had not touched the night before was taken from the bedside nightstand. When I sat up, I shivered lightly. Despite the sunlight coming in through the window, the room was rather cool. I got out of bed and noticed that my clothes were neatly folded atop a bureau in the room. I debated changing, but instead decided to put my coat on. After a night's rest, I was feeling somewhat refreshed, almost as if yesterday were just a surreal affair.

Perhaps this was a sign that I was still not thinking things through clearly either due to the shock of yesterday or because I was still somewhat tired from yesterday. Nevertheless, I decided not to fight this whim and decided to explore my surroundings. At the very least, something of interesting in this mansion may help me take my mind off of Sakura-chan.

Chapter 5: One Morning

While I thought exploring the mansion would be a dull ordeal, it proved to be an interesting undertaking. When I stepped out of the room allocated to me, I was able to get a clear view of a courtyard that was in the middle of the mansion. It seemed that while the exterior was suspiciously identical to Eriol's old mansion, the interior design had gone through massive renovations to the point where other than the same color palette, the mansion could definitely be considered new.

From my vantage point I could see Meilin-chan and Misa were apparently sparring in the courtyard. At least, that was what I assumed to be the two of them sparring. I could barely believe that the two were even human considering the speed that they moved. It was another moment where I realized that once again, I was associating with people who would be considered special. In reality, it was hard for me to accept that the people I was close friends with were anything but normal. Just because Meilin-chan's physical abilities were great, it did not change the fact that she was a normal high school girl with her own worries and problems to deal with.

Or perhaps, it was because Meilin-chan associated with someone as normal as me that she could remain that same Meilin-chan.

These complicated thoughts aside, I continued my exploration of the mansion. As I walked through the halls and looked into the open rooms, I realized that I felt quite comfortable here. The mansion was still very much foreign to me, but I suspected that all of those days of afternoon tea had rubbed off on me, changing my initial impressions of the place that had suspect origins. To date, there were only three places I had truly felt comfortable other than here: my own room, the choir room at Tomoeda Elementary School, and Sakura-chan's house, the latter two being places I hardly visited now for many reasons. Sakura-chan's house in particular became difficult to visit what with one Syaoran Li always there to intrude if I were over and wanted to spend some time with Sakura-chan.

It was here that I realized I was thinking about her again and I attempted to shake my head of these thoughts, continuing my exploration of the mansion instead. The next room I arrived at must have been some sort of combination of library and study. However, it wasn't the various books that caught my attention, but the person sitting in the center of the room. Eriol was calmly reading in a red armchair, the rays of the morning sun shining in, creating a picturesque atmosphere that would probably have made an award-winning photograph or painting if one had the resources to capture this moment. When he turned and smiled at me, I felt as if the photograph itself had come to life and began to interact with the audience.

"Good morning, Tomoyo-san. You're up rather early." He calmly placed the book he had been reading down and walked over to me. I could merely watch him silently, my gaze still fixed on this picturesque man. His face showed a little worry behind his smile. "I hope that you are feeling better."

After a moment, I realized he had obviously been speaking to me and I glanced away, slightly embarrassed at my dazed self. "Yes, I feel better," I whispered.

Eriol sighed in relief. "For a second, I was worried that you were still... upset." When I glanced back at Eriol, he turned away. "I know that it may be difficult for you right now, but I'm sure that things will get better over time."

It was here that I realized it quite obviously. I wondered if anyone had spoken those same words of kindness he had to me when Mizuki-sensei broke up with him. "No," my voice still came out in a whisper as I placed my hand on his face and felt his warmth through it. He turned to face me. "It is definitely more difficult for you." Eriol's face twitched ever so slightly under the feel of my hand and he tried to pull away. However, I quickly grasped his hand with mine. "Eriol, you told me the first day I came here that you and Mizuki-sensei had broken up." His urge to get away lessened as did the tension in his hand. Out of all the things I could say, I honestly said the first thing that came to my head. "Why was it me?"

Eriol's expression clouded over. "You... you wouldn't understand," he said, his voice sounding somewhat weaker than usual. "This isn't something that you should concern yourself with."

"I can sympathize," I replied. I noticed that Eriol had lost his usual cool demeanor. His mask had already failed him before and this was something too important for me to miss the small signs he showed. I don't know why, but somewhere inside me I must have felt this to be the moment to help him through this. "When you decided to tell me you broke up with her, I became concerned about you."

For a moment, it seemed that he would open up to me, tell me what he was thinking. However, he instead averted his gaze and finally pulled out of my grasp. "You really don't understand anything." His mouth twisted into a small, but sad smirk. "I told you that on a whim. Simply just that. I had no expectations from you or anyone else. It's not like you can help. No one can." His voice was cold to the point that I felt shivers down my spine and that made me upset. He might have put up quite the front, but I knew he was running away from this. I don't know why that made me upset, but I was and before I realized what I was doing, a sudden and loud sound echoed through the room as my right hand met Eriol's face.

The slap had both of us as confused as the other was. For a moment, we stared at each other, not sure how to react. However, I felt tears coming to my eyes for some reason and being as baffled as I was about the situation, I couldn't help but run. "Tomoyo?" I think I heard Eriol meekly call out my name, but I couldn't bear to be here now. I ran straight out of the mansion.

The day was certainly as cold as I thought it would be and I shivered once more. The morning sunlight from before had clouded over and in its stead, a light snow began to fall around me. Tired from the running, I sat down on a bench alongside the road and watched the snow fall and pile up. My eyes were probably still red from me crying, so the cool snow felt good. At this moment, I really felt like an idiot. I was just as good as Eriol was with emotional situations and while he hid his true self inside, I simply just ran away from those problems. A few minutes later, one of our maids saw me and helped me home. Later on, after I was thoroughly dried, showered, and scolded by my mother, I was resting in my bed when a thought occurred to me.

Perhaps, this could be considered the worst situation.

And with that, my, Tomoyo Daidouji's, winter break came to a close.

**Author's Notes:**

The reason why this chapter took longer to write than the others so far was that I had a nice bout of writer's block that I had to chisel through. I got through it, but I have mixed feelings about the result. Thankfully, watching a few more episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura and taking time off from writing due to my family's Christmas gathering helped when I came back to finish this chapter. Now looking back at it, I guess this would be kind of like a continuation of chapter four in regards to overall development of the storyline.

Poor Tomoyo. She doesn't get much of a break in this chapter either and she's still an emotional mess. Well, the next chapter will start to feature high school again and the people and stuff that entails.

As always, questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome.

Until next chapter,

animefanrk2k


	6. Welcome Back, Students!

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and all other anime are affiliated with their appropriate owners and are in no way being used by myself to turn a profit. This is a fan-made story.

Response to lightprincess14: Eriol will be a key part in making Tomoyo feel better in many ways. It is an ExT fic.

Response to aterjsa: Thank you very much. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

Response to cheng: Thanks, cheng. I'll keep the updates coming until the end.

Response to XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX: Thank you and here's my update.

Note: This chapter is once again from Tomoyo-vision, also known as Tomoyo's POV.

**Don't Ask By Tomoyo Daidouji**

By animefanrk2k

Well, I know that I said that my vacation came to an end, but I really had one more week before the last semester of school started again. In that time, a few things happened.

Firstly, Meilin-chan moved out of my house and into her apartment. With her bodyguard here and having to adjust for school, Meilin-chan was busy preparing for that and "redecorating", as she put it, her new house. However, she still made time to come visit me every morning and to try to get me out and about. I was stubborn, but her efforts towards the end pushed me to visit her place a few times and help choose colors for paint and rearrange furniture.

Secondly, Spinel-san has become a somewhat permanent resident of my home. At first, I was afraid he had come on Eriol's behalf as a messenger. It turned out that after I had left the mansion the way I did, Eriol's behavior had become more... erratic from what I could gather from Spinel-san's recollections of him.

"Master has been acting strange as of late," Spinel-san said, looking quite troubled, or however troubled a six-inch doll-like being could look, in my room over a cup of black tea. "He occasionally laughs to himself without warning. He has been getting home deliveries of pizza for lunch everyday. Master has been eating microwaveable TV dinners while watching some sort of romance drama on television. The other day, when Meilin-san came to visit for afternoon tea, he made instant oolong tea instead of our usual homemade blend."

Spinel-san repeated this constantly when I asked how Eriol was doing. This list of odd behaviors also continued to increase with each passing day and I wondered if I had caused some sort of severe brain damage to the mischievous sorcerer when I slapped him. He finally decided to move into my place when a very disgruntled Spinel-san appeared outside on my balcony dressed up in an outfit reminiscent of Kero-chan's outfits back when Sakura-chan was still collecting cards. I did indeed try my best not to laugh and he only stayed because I had to promise not to do the same to him.

And thus, the week passed and it was time to start school again...

Chapter 6: Welcome Back, Students!

To explain, the first day back from break was usually a half day of school where the principal, Mr. Tanaka Komaki, would give us a speech on how we should study harder and how each grade should focus on college tests, doing better, or acclimating to the high school environment, usually being a combination of all of this. We would then go to our classrooms for a quick homeroom to take attendance and to hear the most recent school news and be dismissed. Those of us with clubs and activities would then go to our respective places. Those without would obviously go home. I happened to be a part of the Student Council, so I would be meeting my fellow members after homeroom today.

"Tomoyo-sempai! Sempai! Over here!" An energetic girl one year my junior was waving to me from where the top 100 scores of each grade were posted. It was customary for Seiju High School to have such a list up after major testing periods. We had two midterm periods and a finals period, so grades were posted three times a year, which were the cumulative points over seven subjects. Therefore, the best score would be a 700 out of 700, or 100% on all seven tests.

In any case, the energetic girl ran up to me. She bowed low, her shoulder-length hair a streak of orange as she bowed her head quickly and stood straight up again. "Good morning, sempai!"

I smiled. "Good morning, Akane." This was Akane Amakaze, a first-year student and member of the Disciplinary Committee, which was linked with the Student Council. I had met her in junior high school and we've stayed relatively close ever since. "But what seems to be your rush, Akane?"

"Tomoyo-sempai, you have to see the grade list!" Without even waiting for my response, she pulled me over to where the grades were posted. Normally, I did not express interest in the scores, since overall, they were pretty much predictable. When I was dragged over, I quickly glanced over the top ten scores. In the second year section, there were three names that got perfect marks. "Sempai! Congratulations! You got a perfect, a perfect!"

"Akane, you're too excited," I said with a sigh. My grades aside, I checked the other two names. Naoko-chan had also made perfect marks. In fact, she was the legendary "library girl" who was always spotted in the library and who always got perfect scores. Including our first year in Seiju High, this would make her fifth time that she got the perfect 700 points. I managed it once my first year and while I customarily ranked in the top ten, I didn't expect to get perfect marks this midterm period. Still, I smiled. An accomplishment was an accomplishment. "Although, I really have to question that other name that made it to the list." Other than Naoko-chan's name and mine, there was one other name placed right above mine who got perfect marks.

"Is there something wrong with my name being on that list, Ms. Vice President?" A man wearing the Seiju High School's uniform with short dark hair appeared next to me. He was one of the two secretaries of the Student Council and fellow second-year student Hajime Ayasaki, in many ways, an arch nemesis to the Vice President of the Student Council, according to our school's newspaper. Frankly, I found him to be an interesting person, but we found acting out the roles of each other's rivals to be an amusing way to pass the time.

"Oh, I was just surprised that your name appeared on that list. I thought for sure that you would place right underneath my name again." We had a little bet going on during the previous midterm that the "loser-dog", as he put it, would beg for forgiveness from the winner. Safe to say, I had won the bet by one point, but he paid me back in full by announcing his "apology" to the entire school over the PA system, a moment of embarrassment that both students and teachers alike still tease me for.

Akane laughed at our usual "feud". "You two still get along as well as ever, Tomoyo-sempai, Ayasaki-sempai."

The three of us headed towards the school's entrance when I heard a familiar voice call out to me. "Hey, Tomoyo!" Meilin-chan quickly jogged up to and caught up with us. "Morning, Tomoyo." She looked at the Akane and Hajime as well. "Morning to you guys too."

Hajime gave a friendly wave and Akane gave a friendly glare. Wait.

Akane pointed an accusatory finger at Meilin-chan. "You who have addressed Tomoyo-sempai so casually... who are you and please keep your answer within ten words or less!"

Meilin-chan looked at Akane strangely before answering, "I am Meilin, transfer student, and Tomoyo's best friend, probably."

An eerie silence came over the four of us until Akane started counting on her fingers. "Akane, that was ten words exact," I told her.

As it turned out, Meilin-chan happened to transfer into my class. I did not see him all morning, but I'm sure Eriol was around and I was glad it wasn't him that had transferred in. In any case, there wasn't much of interest in this morning's speech and homeroom passed quickly, so I made my way over the to Student Council room afterwards. The President would be showing the new students around campus and it would be the rest of us Student Council members to greet them once the tour ended at our clubroom.

For the record, I am the Vice President of Seiju High School's Student Council.

"Oh, Daidouji-san."

The person that greeted me near the clubroom wasn't one of my fellow Council members, but the principal. I had a feeling I knew exactly what was going to happen, but I decided to wait it out and gave a small bow to the principal. "Good morning, Komaki-sensei. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Ah, Daidouji-san, we are in a bind. It seems that Urashima-san is absent today, so I was hoping that you could fill in her role and show around the transfer students in her stead. Most of the faculty is rather busy, since we just got back from the break."

My sincerest and fakest smile instantly popped up on my face. Oh, it looks like I couldn't avoid meeting Eriol today after all. "Certainly, Komaki-sensei. It would be my pleasure."

For the record, I am regrettably the Vice President of Seiji High School's Student Council.

This semester, we happened to get a total of seven transfer students, including Meilin-chan and Eriol. Four were second-year students like us three while the remaining three were first-years. While it wasn't my job to keep track of them, the two other second-year transfer students were Yukari Hirai, a rather normal girl who didn't stand out too much, and Eiji Ayanokouji, a quiet gentleman that stood out even less than Hirai-san did. The three first-year students were Makoto Hyuga, a seemingly nerdy but bright man, Maya Ibiki, a shy girl with short brown hair, and Shigeru Aoba, a friendly and blunt guy with shoulder-length rocker-style hair.

In any case, in our President's absence, I was giving this group a tour of the school, acting as pleasantly as I could muster and hiding all signs that I did not want to be there. It did not help matters at all, since Eriol had taken up the role of official questionnaire, having something to ask every other sentence that came out of my mouth. "And here we have the cafeteria, a place that serves a varied menu suitable to most palettes and also a nice place to gather with friends for meals. Because of efforts from the Student Council in the past, the cafeteria is open during all normal school hours."

Almost instantly, that annoyingly perfect and polite voice from a certain midnight-haired, bespectacled Englishman reached my ears. "Daidouji-san, can you explain some of the foods that are served here?"

"Certainly," I responded, no hint of malice in my voice while my mind was anything but. "The counter over there has your traditional Japanese lunch menu with an assortment of noodles, curry, rice dishes and the like, if that appeases your appetite. The one next to it is the sandwich station..." As my explanation continued, I was thankful that the last stop was within reach.

"And finally, this is the Student Council room. Here, normally it would be the Student Council President introducing you to us, but since she's absent, I'll do it instead."

The door, however, opened and a person promptly greeted the group. "Greeting, everyone! I am Seiju High School's Student Council President, Haruka Urashima."

Certainly, even I did not expect this. "Ha... Haruka-sempai?" Being at a loss for words, I thought for a moment. "I am pretty sure that the principal said you were absent."

"That was a lie. Anyway..." Haruka-sempai boldly admitted this and brushed me aside. Indeed, this upperclassman was Haruka Urashima, the leader of Seiju High School, in a way. "In any case, I will say it again. I am the President, Haruka Urashima. No need to be sticks in the mud. To you guys, 'Haruka-sempai' should do just fine." A moment passed for everyone to enjoy the shock value of meeting this somewhat deranged individual. "And you guys have already met our Vice President, Tomoyo Daidouji."

I cleared my throat. "Once again, I am the Vice President, Tomoyo Daidouji. I also organize the budgets of the various clubs and Student Council events, so that our fearless leader doesn't spend it all in one place."

Haruka-sempai coughed. "Nice comeback, Ms. Vice President."

Two more people stepped through the doorway. The one with the short dark hair spoke first. "Second-year and secretary of the Student Council, Hajime Ayasaki is here. It's nice to see you all and nice to see you again, Hirai-san."

"Yes, it's a pleasure," Hirai-san responded. Apparently, the two must have been in the same class.

Finally, the short pink-haired member of our group spoke. "Megumi Momomo, first-year student, and also secretary of the Student Council. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Everyone also went around and named himself or herself and said where they were from. After this, Haruka smile at the transfer students. "Now that introductions are out of the way, here's your first real pep talk and not the lame, formal think ol' Komaki said out there this morning. You'll learn what our role as the Student Council is along the way too. Instead, I'll tell you this. You guys, for one reason or another, are here today enjoying the same school days as us. We don't know when those days will end, but I hope you take away some great memories from here, all right?"

A collective "yes" ensued from our seven transfer students. I smiled because it was words similar to that that convinced me to try for the Student Council in the first place.

And with that, our first school day was over. I even agreed to walk partway with both Meilin-chan and Eriol, me being in much better spirits than I was before. "Tomoyo-sempai!"

That same energetic tone from this morning made me stop and wait for the first-year girl to catch up. "Akane, done with your duties for today?"

Akane stood straight and saluted to me. "Yes, Vice President. Disciplinary Member Akane Amakaze has helped to ensure peace was kept on our first day back from vacation." The two of us laughed and I nivited her to walk with me part of the way home, to which she almost instantly agreed. Then we headed over to where Eriol and Meilin-chan were waiting by the gate.

**Author's Notes:**

And thus, we begin a new saga (kinda) into the world of ExT. I used some blatantly obvious anime references for names here, so bonus cookies if you can catch all of them. Anyway, this chapter marks the beginnings of a deeper look into why the Sakura and Tomoyo relationship did not work, according to this particular fic, and also a deeper look into why Tomoyo is the way she is right now.

Oh, and future chapters are subject to changes in point of view. The next one will be from Meilin's perspective and will actually be a direct continuation of this chapter. You'll understand why next time.

As always, questions, comments, and criticisms, are always welcome.

Until next chapter,

animefanrk2k


	7. Turning Point of the Play

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura, nor any other character affiliated with their respective anime. This is a non-profit fanfic for your enjoyment.

Response to lightprincess14: The characters are inspired from other anime characters. I'll actually go over them in the notes at the end of this one. =]

Response to XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX: Actually, I mean just that. Spinel Sun started visiting Tomoyo's house more, though I'll explore this at a later chapter.

Response to aterjsa: Well, since they're all now in high school, I figured that they'd also be interacting with different grade levels too.

Note: This is from Meilin's POV. You have been notified!

**Don't Ask By Tomoyo Daidouji**

I looked at the calendar on my desk. Right now, the date was September 3rd, Tomoyo Daidouji's 19th birthday. I sighed. I had fulfilled my part in all of this and now, I could leisurely let events take its course. I smiled a bit. It was strange that I had gone through with this plan and that it had worked. In any case, I'd see the fruits of our endeavors in three more months. "Still, I can't believe that it was her of all people to think this through."

"Meilin-sama, you look quite happy." I looked over to my bodyguard. She stood at the door with a stack of papers in her hands. She placed them down on my desk. "If I'm not mistaken, is today not Tomoyo-sama's birthday? Have you given her a call?"

I chuckled to myself. "Misa, you know that I'm not supposed to know how to contact her, right?" I stood up from my desk, leaving the work for later. "Anyway, I already sent my gift to her, so I'm sure she'll be getting it soon."

Misa smiled. "Meilin-sama, it seems that you are enjoying yourself."

I glanced at my bodyguard. "Well, I can't say that I'm not. After all, a plan that she concocted worked out this well. I was merely a participant in it, but..." I thought over the event that started it all for me about three years back. "You know, I guess it was fun to play pretend." With that, I left the room. Misa followed. We both knew where I would go. It was the lone cherry blossom tree that stood in the Li Mansion's courtyard. There, I could comfortably let my memories wander around the events that led up to this day.

Chapter 7: Turning Point of the Play

It was... strange.

That was my conclusion at the end of my first day in Seiju High School while waiting for Tomoyo to meet up with me and Eriol by the front gate. Tomoyo didn't mention them once today. No one asked about them once. Even when it was announced that I was from Hong Kong, no one asked about any familial relations I may have in the school.

In fact, both Syaoran Li and Sakura Kinomoto were virtually unknown. Save their class, which a few people apparently did keep track of, it seemed that they did not stand out at all. In between homeroom and going to meet up with the other transfer students for the school tour, I had asked a few people about them, but the responses were the same:

"Kinomoto-san? I remember her, but she really didn't stand out much."

"Li-san... he was really quiet. Were you related to him?"

In a school where Tomoyo was nearly an idol as the Vice President of the Student Council and even that Naoko Yanagisawa was an urban legend of the school's library, both Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li were unknown to the general populace. I sighed as I thought about this and hoped that it wasn't Syaoran's overly gloomy personality that kept Sakura from making friends.

In any case, we walked home together, Eriol, Tomoyo, and our underclassman Akane Amakaze. Akane was a very happy and energetic girl. However, I could also tell that she was bright and observant from the way she talked and acted with us. In any case, we talked about mundane things until we reached the intersection that led to the Li Apartments. "Well, I have to get home," I said rather lamely. Breaking up early with the group was sad, but I'd see them tomorrow anyway. Plus, if I got home too late, I could see Misa searching all of Tomoeda for me in the most unorthodox ways.

However, it seemed that I wasn't the only one that took this road. Akane turned to me. "Oh, I take this road home too!"

I smiled at her. "Wanna go together?" Akane gave me a polite nod of confirmation. "Then, I guess we'll split up here."

"We'll see you tomorrow, Meilin-chan." Tomoyo smiled and gave me a wave.

"Yes, get home safe, Meilin-san," was Eriol's remark to me.

I waved at them as they left and continued walking together without a word to each other. After they had left my view, I felt a tug on my uniform's sleeve. I looked over to Akane. "What is it?"

"Sempai... may I have a word with you?"

The two of us stopped by a small café that happened to be on the way to both our homes. I ordered a black coffee with no sugar for myself. It was a drink that I had grown accustomed to a year or so back and I ordered it occasionally in restaurants and the like. Akane got an "ultra chocolate banana deluxe vanilla fudge sundae", which was a massive dessert that measured about 20 centimeters in both height and diameter. I wasn't sure about ordering ice cream in the winter, but I've seen stranger things, such as the eating quantity and speed of Tsukishiro-san.

After I got my second refill of coffee, I decided to ask exactly why Akane had asked to have a word with someone who she had just met today. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Akane glanced over from her almost finished sundae. At first, I thought she was going to ignore the question, but she began talking in between bites. "Meilin-sempai is Tomoyo-sempai's childhood friend, right?"

I nodded. "Tomoyo and I go way back to elementary school."

Akane finished her sundae and looked at me with utmost seriousness. "Then, that would mean you know a great deal about her, right?" I nodded, having no clue as to where she was going with this thought process. "Then, you know of Kinomoto-sempai..."

"I do." Akane seemed to struggle with whatever it is she wanted to say and I finally let out a small sigh. "You know, if there's something that you want to talk to me about, go right ahead and don't hold back. I don't know exactly what it is, but I'll listen to it until the very end."

At this, Akane looked surprised and then smiled with tears in her eyes. "Meilin-sempai, you really are Tomoyo-sempai's close friend, being so nice and all!"

Her reaction was, how should I put it... cute. I blushed and embarrassingly looked away. "I'm normal. NORMAL! Now, what were you going to say?"

"I've been a big fan of Tomoyo-sempai since I was little." I finally looked back at Akane. It seemed that she was being serious now. "Actually, I transferred in to Tomoeda Elementary School during the fifth grade. Back then, I was really shy and found it hard to make friends. I mean, everyone else grew up with each other while I was just an outsider. At least, I thought like that at the time." Akane smiled sheepishly, as if she was embarrassed by this fact. "However, I overheard sempai's singing voice. Tomoyo-sempai has a calm, soothing voice, one that sounds gentle, but is strong enough to carry itself very far. I think she was my encouragement to try harder."

Akane smiled. "By the time I entered junior high school, I became more of myself and made lots of friends, including sempai." However, Akane's still smiling face appeared somewhat melancholy. "It was the day of the fall school and the finale was going to be Tomoyo-sempai's singing performance. At the time, I was really looking forward to it. However..." Akane frowned a little. "That day... was very strange. It is almost as if something happened to my memories. However, I know that this day was important because afterwards, sempai stopped singing."

"Stopped singing?" I couldn't believe my ears. To think that Tomoyo Daidouji, who loved singing that much, would stop was unthinkable to me.

"Yes. At first, she missed a few practices. Then, however, she skipped out on a performance and I heard she got into arguments with the choir teacher. She resigned soon after that."

"Well, if that's how it is, it might have something to do with the school festival."

"That's the thing, Meilin-sempai. The truth is I don't remember much about it." I looked questioningly at Akane while she continued. "All I remember is during the day before sempai's concert, something must have happened because I remember running inside and both sempai and a brown-haired sempai passed by me. I called out to both of them, but I only remember saying 'Tomoyo-sempai' out loud." Akane crossed her arms and continued to think about it. "What's even stranger is when I woke up, Tomoyo-sempai was shaking me awake at night. I tried to tell my parents, but they both just said that I must have been tired from working on the school festival committee."

I had a suspicion that I knew what happened during that festival. Her vague memories, running inside while Tomoyo and a "brown-haired sempai" ran towards whatever it was that caused her to run inside the building. "So, what happened after?"

"Oh! I approached Tomoyo-sempai about it." Akane smiled. "At first she looked like I had caught her doing something inappropriate and naughty and asked what I remembered. After telling her, she said that I was probably daydreaming." Akane looked at me seriously now. "Meilin-sempai, I know that all of this may sound strange, but can you make sense of it? If you're Tomoyo-sempai's childhood friend, then I'm sure you might know something..."

"I can't," I answered instantly. However, I couldn't ignore such a sincere person. She was an underclassman who looked up to Tomoyo a lot. As both Tomoyo's friend and as an upperclassman myself, I couldn't just brush off Akane. I smirked as I thought about how oba-sama would scold me for giving up this much information, but this would at least put some of the girl's worries to ease so that she may not bring up the topic again. "I'll tell you just this. I'm not 100% sure on what happened, but I can at least say that the person who tampered with your memories is definitely not a bad person, nor did she mean it with ill intent." I sighed. Tonight, I would have a long talk with a certain card mistress. "In any case, even if I say that, everyone else won't know either and the people do won't ever talk about it."

I stood up. Akane did as well. "Meilin-sempai, can you tell me?"

I placed a hand on her head and ruffled her orange hair a little. "You're a good kouhai, but I can't tell you anything more than this. It's your choice if you want to investigate it more. However, I simply can't give out answers. Do you understand?" Akane looked a little glum, but nodded. "Good girl. I'll see you tomorrow, Akane." With a wave, I left the café.

As I walked home, I began piecing together the information I had available to me. This reminded me of a phone call I had received from Syaoran a few years back. At the time, I didn't really realize its significance, but I could now confirm that it was probably around the same time as the fall school festival Akane just mentioned.

"What?! Sakura-chan was seen using magic at school?!" That would be my voice yelling at Syaoran through the telephone.

"Calm down, Meilin!" I heard Syaoran sigh through the receiver. "Luckily, it was only in the school building, so Sakura used Erase to erase the memories of those who saw her."

Really, I felt stupid for not realizing this earlier. It was after Akane's story that I realized this inconsistency. Though I felt something was wrong, I had assumed that everything was taken care of, so the incident must have been small in scale. However, what if you looked at it from another angle? What if the incident wasn't a few people, but it was the day of their junior high's school festival? Therefore, it wasn't a few people, but the entire school that had witnessed it. Additionally, this was important enough for Syaoran to call the main house about. He rarely called in reports about minor details. Despite this, he went out of his way to inform me about this "incident".

"I can't believe it," I muttered to myself as I got to the Li Apartment Complex. Really, this was a silly misunderstanding and while it was a big misunderstand, it was one that through the participants this way and that way due to coincidence.

"Or necessity," I corrected myself. Oba-sama had always told me that there were no coincidences in this world, but only necessity. Apparently, it was a favorite phrase of Clow Reed. In any case, it seemed that a phone call to a certain mistress of the Sakura Cards was in order.

"Now, now, calm down Meilin-chan." After having spent the better part of half and hour complaining how Syaoran should have properly informed me of the matter than happened, especially when he did confirm that my suspicions of Sakura using Erase on almost everyone at school were true, Syaoran had switched over to Sakura, who was now trying to calm me down. "While it is true that we didn't give you a clear explanation of the matter, it was necessary to do it."

"Necessary? You realize how much you've confused me and how much you may have hurt Tomoyo?" I was still fuming.

"But Meilin-chan," Sakura's voice came over the phone. She sounded as calm and collected as ever and it irritated me. "Don't you think Tomoyo-chan being away from me will be better for her?"

"What... what do you mean?" I stuttered a moment, thinking that I just misheard her. "She will do better without you around?"

"Meilin-chan, I know that I'm slow on a lot of things, but there are some things that I noticed and pretended not to. Even someone as dense as me when it comes to relationships knew that Tomoyo-chan didn't love me as just a best friend. When the opportunity arose, I took a chance to change that."

Sakura explained that while the incident was unrelated to her plans, her true plan was sprung into action ever since that school year. Sakura found an opportunity to make some distance in between her and Tomoyo. She told me that she did this so that Tomoyo would be able to be her own person. She was sad that Tomoyo quit singing, but was happy that Tomoyo seemed to have coped with it well going into high school, joining the student council and even becoming its Vice President this year.

"I knew that Tomoyo-chan was an amazing person and friend, so I wanted her to become that. She became famous in Seiju!"

Finally, I sighed through the phone. "So, is that it? She becomes super popular and that will be her happiness?"

I heard laughter over the phone. "We both know that Tomoyo-chan isn't that type of person. I was thinking that to truly get over me, she'd have to fall in love, but not with just anyone. So for that, I'll need your help Meilin-chan."

"My help?" The me from three years ago wondered what the card mistress could possibly be plotting.

"But really," I said to myself, coming out of my memories. "I couldn't believe the request that she asked me for that day."

Misa smiled. "All is well that ends well."

"It still hasn't ended," I said to her. "Well, only time will tell what's in store for our future." And with that, I stopped my reminiscing of memories.

**Author's Notes:**

So it turns out that it was Sakura who played a key part in separating herself from Tomoyo. This chapter's flow was kind of strange because it started from the present tense, and I mean the same time that the beginning of chapter one took place in, jumps to right after chapter six concludes, and then jumps back another 2 years or so into the present again. Well, hopefully I'm just overly conscious of this.

Well, to explain from last chapter, I introduced some new characters. While Sailor Moon was one of the ones I wanted to borrow names from, I ended up borrowing names from four different sources for the three other student council members and for Akane. To start with the three student council members, Haruka Urashima is a reference to Love Hina, who has a character of the same name. Hajime Ayasaki's name was inspired by Hayate the Combat Butler, though personality is of no particular source. Finally, Megumi Momomo is from Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~. And, of course, Akane Amakaze is a double reference to Miharu Amakaze from D.C. Da Capo and Akane Suzumiya from Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (Rumbling Hearts in America), both kouhai, or underclassmen, to the main female protagonists of their respective series who look up to their sempai, or upperclassman.

I think that concludes what I have to say for now. As always questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome.

Until next chapter,

animfanrk2k


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